Sure, with Tech's spring practice coming to an end, it would be easy to go into default mode and just declare quarterback Logan Thomas and wide receiver Marcus Davis the biggest winners in the practice sessions.

While both guys made huge strides, several other players/positions saw big-time improvements. On the other hand, there were some areas that will likely have coach Frank Beamer and his staff wringing their hands a bit as the summer progresses. Here's a look at some of the winners and question marks coming out of the spring:

BIGGEST WINNERS

LB JERON GOUVEIA-WINSLOW
After an up-and-down fall in which he missed tackles at key moments (see the Boise State game) and seemed confused on assignments at times, he came into the spring needing to hold off rising junior Alonzo Tweedy and rising redshirt freshmen Dominique Patterson and Nick Dew to keep his starting job at weak-side linebacker.

Gouveia-Winslow, a rising junior, seems to have gotten the job done. He said he has become a better tackler and he's playing more aggressively, which has aided his consistency.

"This spring, I came in with the mentality that I have to fight for my spot," said Gouveia-Winslow, who had 41 tackles and two interceptions last season, and who finished with a sack and a fumble recovery in the spring game.

"I took it as a challenge to motivate me to do better. I've been trying to do better every day this spring. I felt like I had a good spring."

QB MARK LEAL
He was almost an after-thought at the outset of the spring, as he looked to be a guy that would compete with fellow rising redshirt freshman Ricardo Young for the No. 3 quarterback job. When Young went down with a foot sprain, Leal took the added opportunity to get reps and started to press No. 2 Joseph Clayton.

Now, when preseason practices open in August, it looks like Leal will compete with Clayton for the main backup job. In today's scrimmage, Leal completed 3 of 6 passes for 34 yards, while Clayton completed 3 of 10 passes for 27 yards and two interceptions.

"You never want to see a teammate go down," said Leal regarding Young's injury. "That's your teammate. He's always there to help you compete. At the same time, as soon as he went down, (quarterbacks) coach (Mike) O'Cain said, 'Reps are coming your way. Take advantage of this.' That's exactly what I had to do, so I did it. Its helped a lot."

CB DETRICK BONNER
He still has a long way to go, but he showed flashes of brilliance in the spring. If he continues to improve, he should solidify his place as at least Tech's third-best cornerback this coming season - ahead of rising senior Cris Hill. Bonner, a rising redshirt freshman, had five tackles and a broken up pass in the scrimmage.

LB TELVION CLARK
As a rising sophomore, he lacks a great deal of experience, but he showed a knack this spring for being in the middle of plays and logged a ton of tackles - example, he led Tech with nine tackles in the spring game.

LB TARIQ EDWARDS
Though strong-side linebacker looked like it was going to be a potential problem area for Tech coming into the spring given the sudden departure of Lyndell Gibson, who was last season's starter, Edwards and Clark displayed a lot of promise this spring. Edwards, who is the projected starter, had three tackles (including a sack) and a pass break-up in the spring game.

DEFENSIVE LINE
Defensive ends J.R. Collins and James Gayle, a Bethel High graduate, and defensive tackle Derrick Hopkins had defensive line coach Charley Wiles raving for most of the spring. Collins and Gayle continued to do in the scrimmage what they had done all spring - terrorize quarterbacks. Collins had two sacks and a forced fumble in the scrimmage, while Gayle had a sack.

LB BARQUELL RIVERS
It remains to be seen how much he actually plays in the fall, but he got his chance to play this spring when middle linebackers Bruce Taylor (arthroscopic shoulder surgery) and Jack Tyler (back injury) went out with injuries. Rivers may never get back to 100 percent after suffering a torn quadriceps tendon in February 2010 (just last week, he said he was still only about 80 percent), but there's no doubting his heart.

BIGGEST QUESTION MARKS

BACKUP RUNNING BACKS
While rising junior David Wilson looks to be a star in the making at tailback, there's no telling what Tech has behind him. Rising senior Josh Oglesby will go into the fall as the No. 2 tailback, but he's far from a sure-thing. He may be pressed by rising sophomore James Hopper, rising sophomore Tony Gregory or possibly even incoming freshman Michael Holmes. Oglesby, Hopper and walk-ons Daniel Dyer, Justin Ryals and Greg Gaddell combined to have 23 carries
for just 52 yards in the spring game.

PUNTER
Gotta be Beamer's biggest concern going into August. At this point, wide receiver Danny Coale looks like he might be Tech's best option at punter...and he's only been punting about two weeks.

Coale had three punts in the spring game, averaging 44 yards per punt, including one that went for 53 yards and nearly stopped inside the 1-yard line. Scott Demler had three punts for an average of 41.7 yards per punt. Ethan Keyserling had two punts for an average of 43.5 yards per punt. Connor Goulding shanked a punt for 16 yards, while Grant Bowden uncorked a 7-yard doozy. Beamer said he wants Coale to work on speeding up his punting by becoming a two-step punter this summer as opposed to a three-step punter.

"I'm definitely going to work on it," Coale said. "It's going to be a long summer, and if we're out there throwing, I'll have them throw me a couple balls and punt them. I'm just trying to get quicker on it, working with the punters that are here and see if I can get the form down, because I've never really been taught a specific form. It's definitely something I'm going to work, and come fall, I'm going to compete and try to win it."

BACKUP RIGHT GUARD
While Tech certainly appears to have more depth on the offensive line heading into the summer than it has had in recent seasons (second teamers Nick Becton at left tackle, who is actually almost neck-and-neck with Lanier for the starting job, Vinston Painter at right tackle, much-improved David Wang at left guard and Michael Via at center), right guard is still a worry spot.

Behind rising senior starter Jaymes Brooks, a Denbigh High graduate, Matt Arkema moved up to the No. 2 spot last week ahead of fellow rising redshirt freshman Laurence Gibson. If Arkema or Gibson can't get the job done, it might not be too surprising to see Wang become the No. 2 at both left guard and right guard in preseason practices.

KICKER
Rising sophomore Cody Journell has won the job...for now. While it looks as if Journell has a stranglehold on the duties, let's not forget he's yet another Tech kicker that will enter the season with zero game experience. Can Beamer continue to make this formula work? We'll see.

BACKUP QB
See Leal and Clayton. It's going to be interesting once August practices open. My unofficial handicapping of the backup quarterback race? Leal wins it.

Tech handed out several awards to players at halftime of the spring game. Here's a rundown on the awards: